Review: Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben

Harlan Coben’s propensity for writing thrillers that keep you turning the pages hours after you meant to turn out the light continues with Don’t Let Go, a standalone novel set in the world of fan-favourite protagonist Myron Bolitar.

Nobody’s ever been able to explain what Leo Dumas and his girlfriend, Diana Styles, were doing on the railroad tracks the night they were killed by a train, or why Maura Wells, girlfriend of Leo’s twin, Napoleon, “Nap,” disappeared that night. They’re questions that have haunted Nap for more than a decade, and have shaped the way he has lived his life: isolated, an avenging angel of a cop who isn’t afraid to break (or bend) the rules of law to enact his interpretation of justice. Indeed, Don’t Let Go is told almost entirely from his perspective, Nap relaying events to his dead brother, as though he’s listening. It’s clear from the very beginning: Nap hasn’t forgotten what happened that night, and it’s still affecting him today. He is determined to find the truth, to uncover what truly happened that night, and understand how those events connect.

When Maura’s fingerprints are discovered in a car driven by a murdered Pennsylvania cop, sergeant Rex Canton — also one of Nap’s high school classmates — Nap immediately inserts himself into the investigation. When Hank, another classmate, is also found murdered, Nap realises the connection between everyone: at school they were members of the Conspiracy Club, who spent much of their time sussing out the true purpose of the secret military installation in town. Obvious conclusion: they uncovered something, learned something they shouldn’t, and now they’re being hunted down. But if that’s the case, why wait fifteen years between murdering Leo and Diana to now target the others? Nap knows he’s missing a vital piece of the puzzle, and to find the answer means delving back into his painful past.

One of the great thriller writers of our age, Harlan Coben’s clever, fast-moving and multi-faceted yarns always demand to be read in one sitting. Don’t Let Go is no different. This is an exhilarating and unputdownable novel that asks whether the truth can really set you free, and whether some secrets are better left buried. More impressively, it’s a pacy thriller with a romantic heart, never once threatening to become overly sentimental. Coben’s gift is his ability to handle all the elements of a great thriller — a thrumming, zig-zagging plot, sharp dialogue, empathetic characters — with inimitable brio. Don’t Let Go is the work of a consummate storyteller.